Resolution passage signals new stage in IRA defense push

If you’ve looked at the news today, you’ve probably seen that last night (Tues., Feb. 25), the House passed a budget resolution. This is the “starting gun” that signals the real work of the congressional reconciliation process is now underway. That also means it’s time for our IRA defense work to go into full swing.

We’ve prepped this Q&A for you to understand what the resolution says, what it implies about the budget process ahead, and what we’ll need to do to protect the IRA’s clean energy tax credits throughout that budget process.

If you have any questions that aren’t answered here, feel free to drop them in the comments below.

What does the House resolution say?

The resolution the House passed last night directs all the committees in the House to either spend or cut certain amounts from their budgets for the next 10 years. This helpful resource from the Bipartisan Policy Center shows the breakdown for each committee: the Education & Workforce Committee must cut $330 billion, the Armed Services Committee can spend an additional $100 billion, and so on.

What’s going on in the Senate?

The Senate passed its own resolution last week, and now that the House has passed its version, the two chambers will need to come to an agreement on a compromise.

The key difference between the Senate and House versions is their scope. NPR explains, “The Senate wants to tackle the border, military spending and energy policy sooner rather than later — and proposes a second bill later this year to address tax cuts. The House [...] wants to address all the priorities in one big bill.”

President Trump has expressed his preference for the House’s approach, so last night’s passage of the House resolution is now driving the conversation.

What has the response been so far?

Much of the initial media coverage and public reactions to the budget resolution are highlighting the impacts it could have on Medicaid. That’s because the biggest cuts by far — $880 billion — have been set for the Energy & Commerce Committee, which oversees healthcare spending.

The New York Times puts it this way: “What can House Republicans Cut Instead of Medicaid? Not Much.”

But the Associated Press points out, “Several Republican lawmakers worry that scope of the cuts being eyed — particularly some $880 billion over the decade to the committee that handles health care spending, including Medicaid, for example, or $230 billion to the agriculture committee that funds food stamps — will be too harmful to their constituents back home.”

How does the Inflation Reduction Act fit in?

The Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions overall are estimated to cost the federal government anywhere between $600 billion to $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The clean energy tax credits account for the bulk of those overall costs and are the focus of our protection push (more on why below). These are measures that are benefiting the climate and communities across the country, but that could potentially be a target for committees needing to make cuts.

Some energy provisions and regulations that relate to the clean energy tax credits would fall under the jurisdiction of the Energy & Commerce Committee, which as noted earlier, has to cut $880 billion. But tax credits themselves are in the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee. That committee can spend an additional $4.5 trillion, but that amount is intended to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. So when it comes to the clean energy tax credits, we’re likely to see a collaborative discussion across these key committees.

As lawmakers come under more and more public pressure not to cut healthcare, they may look for ways to minimize those cuts and reduce spending elsewhere. Since the IRA clean energy tax credits could provide a place for them to shave off hundreds of billions of dollars, repealing them could be viewed as a partial solution.

It’s up to us to make sure Republican lawmakers are crystal clear that these clean energy tax cuts are benefitting jobs, the economy and the climate — and they shouldn’t be sacrificed at any point in the budget reconciliation process.

Why are we protecting the IRA’s clean energy tax credits?

The Inflation Reduction Act’s climate and clean energy measures put America on a path to significantly lower climate pollution than we were headed toward before. The tax credits for clean electricity, in particular, are responsible for about half of the bill’s potential climate pollution cuts. As a climate organization, we think it’s important to defend the climate wins that have already been achieved and are doing the most to help reduce pollution.

In addition to the climate benefits, there are clear economic benefits, too. The clean energy tax credits have been huge drivers of jobs and investment across the country. (Here’s our database tracking those benefits.) And one analysis estimated that repealing them would also raise Americans’ electricity bills in 2040 by about 10%. Those economic benefits are important, too, and are compelling arguments for Republican lawmakers we need to sway.

What has CCL done so far?

This need to protect the IRA’s clean energy tax credits was something we expected — so we’ve already started.

Since the election, we have been laying groundwork to protect the climate and clean energy measures of the Inflation Reduction Act. Defending the IRA was a co-primary ask in many of our 366 virtual lobby meetings in December of 2024. As Republican lawmakers themselves have spoken up in support of the tax credits, CCL has been amplifying and praising that.

CCLers nationwide have been gathering stories of IRA benefits and brushing up on the data about local investment and jobs the IRA has brought. And through social media in recent weeks, CCL’s national accounts, chapters, and volunteers have been pushing out information about those benefits.

What should we do right now?

Next week is our Conservative Conference and Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., where right-of-center CCL volunteers will meet with Republican offices. Their primary ask in the lobby meetings will be to preserve these clean energy tax credits.

Remember, the budget reconciliation process is a partisan one and Republicans are in charge of it this time. So it’s strategically helpful that Republican offices will hear first from fellow conservatives on this issue.

Then, in the coming days, we will do a broad mobilization for all volunteers to reinforce that message. Stay tuned for an action tool that will allow anyone with a Republican representative or senator to reach out with a strong message of support for the clean energy tax credits. Plan to attend our March meeting to take this action together.

On the March Action Sheet, you’ll also see an action about handwriting physical letters for drop-offs at district offices in the coming weeks.

That way, CCL is making our voice heard loud and clear at a critical time: right as committees are beginning to discuss how to make their cuts.

How can we do more?

We’ll probably be defending the IRA’s clean energy tax credits for a while. Budget reconciliation takes a long time as all the spending and cuts get hammered out.

The good news is that means we have time to pull off even more extensive grassroots organizing in states across the country to push lawmakers in the right direction. CCLers in some states are already working together to develop media and grasstops plans to protect the tax credits.

As the budget process moves forward, CCL staff will provide further guidance and inspiration for those types of broader organizing efforts so we can make the most impact and sway the lawmakers we need to.